Last month the group had an unusually common word of the month— trope—so one of us had to provide a new definition that combined the last name of one of our Presidential candidates with the word “rope.” While we initially laughed, we quickly recalled that we’re a nonpolitical gathering and we severely chastised the unnamed individual who came up with the new definition (his name rhymes with “Lou”).

There is not room here to adequately describe the breadth and depth of our other conversations that morning. However, we learned we have a love/hate relationship with TV commercials; bemoaned the popularity of fast food; concluded that curiosity is key to communicating with children and youth; reviewed one man’s pleasure in reigniting conversations with childhood friends; mourned the loss of the old-time hardware store that had everything in stock.